Gig&Tell: Sierra Repertory Theatre

Working at this theatre was nothing short of a phenomenal experience. As a Non-Union actor, they pay is ok, solidly in the middle, but the theatre makes up for that with housing, possible transportation, and EMC points at both locations.

I was at the East Sonora Location. The management was just switched this season and the operation ran smoothly with no hiccups or crazy demands of the actors and the community loves this place. It really is a great area to perform if you get the opportunity. Highly recommended!

There are some great lakes to hike near by as well as a nice downtown with neat restaurants to hit up.

Solid communication across the board and they treat both Union and Non-Union actors with a great deal of respect.

I'd love to work here again, and encourage all to look into this theatre and area.

Had a wonderful time working here!! It's a great place to get EMC points. They are very kind and treat their actors very well. I felt very respected as an actor and that my opinions/concerns mattered. They are also very considerate of health/injuries/not pushing yourself too far in rehearsal.

The town is very sweet! It's a smaller town, but there is still quite a bit to do/see. You don't feel too isolated. There are shopping centers (Walmart/CVS/other chains) as well as a cute old-downtown area with quaint places to eat. They house all of their actors and give some of them cars or give them a travel stipend.

I had such a positive experience working at Sierra Rep. Those traveling from out of town live with a host family (they are all wonderful and some even host dinner parties) and they are able to provide some cast members with cars. You are only an hour from Yosemite National Park! On your off days, go hiking and exploring one of the most beautiful places in the whole country. Can't recommend it enough.

I had such a positive experience working at Sierra Rep. Those traveling from out of town live with a host family (they are all wonderful and some even host dinner parties) and they are able to provide some cast members with cars. You are only an hour from Yosemite National Park! On your off days, go hiking and exploring one of the most beautiful places in the whole country. Can't recommend it enough.

Ok, Sierra Rep is one of the ebst out there. consistently puts on terrific shows, great housing and they offer cars to out of town actors. The staff is the nicest ever, they offer EMC points and sonora is a beautiful beautiful town. Scott Viets, the artistic director, is pretty damn cool as well. He made sure to hang out with the casts during the contract and such a great director. WORK HERE if you can. non eq pay is not amazing, but it's not $150 a week either. it starts at almost $300, and eq starts at $413.

Its wonderful. High Quality production with incredible actors and directors. Doesn't get much better...a small town Equity gem. Pay for non-eq is much higher than I got paid as a non-eq actor at regional theaters! and it met every standard required by Equity. Some theatres just do not deserve their bond with Equity, but this is ABSOLUTELY NOT the case with Sierra Rep. Highly reccomended.

01/14/2014 1:20pm

Non-Equity ensemble makes between $100 and $200 a week here and leads make between $250 and $300. This is experience from multiple shows with the company. Awesome company to work for, don't get me wrong, but they hardly pay anything. You do shows here for the points and to live in the beautiful mountains for a couple of months.

02/16/2014 11:38am

I was so lucky to work for SRT. The quality of the productions I was in was stellar for an SPT theatre and I made some great friends. However, I found the attitude of the staff to be snobby and uninterested in their actors. I also was barely able to live off the pay - no, I was unable to live off the pay and was a lead in the productions I was cast in. I had to live off my entire savings. They do provide vehicles for people who fly in. I, however, had to bring my own vehicle and was barely reimbursed for my drive out there and not at all for my drive home - partly my fault for not realizing I should ask for a returning stipend b/c it wouldn't be offered. I understand that times are tough, and that SRT holds themselves to high production value standards, but I can't go back to a theatre that treated it's actors with such disrespect, housed them so far away from the theatre (I spent half of my pay on gas while I was there), and pays so little.

We (the casts) were continually disrespected by our stage manager, given notes that didn't pertain to the safety or integrity of the show after we'd been open, and not given notes that DID pertain to the safety of actors AND the integrity of the show. This is unacceptable to me.

Sonora is a beautiful town and if you're just starting out, or have somehow earned SRT's respect and can negotiate higher pay, then by all means check it out! The quality of the productions, again, is incredible! You'll feel like you're at a theatre that pays you a lot more than you're actually getting paid. You can go on beautiful hikes and see Yosemite! I'm so glad I had the experience because I learned a lot about what I am willing to put up with and also what I'm worth and it's more than they're able to offer - financially and as a human.